BT has once again announced it is speeding up the roll-out of super-fast broadband in the UK.

ISP needs to upgrade 114 exchanges to hit target

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BT has once again announced it is speeding up the roll-out of super-fast broadband.

The ISP said 87 percent of London homes and businesses will be able to access its fibre network by Spring 2011.

Currently just three percent of London can access the fibre network. To reach its target the ISP will need to roll-out the fibre cables to 114 exchanges.

The fibre network in London will comprise a mixture of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), which offers internet speeds of up to 100Mbps, and fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC), provides businesses and residents with speeds of 'up to' 40Mbps.

"London is already one of the best connected cities in the world, and our investment plan will ensure that it stays ahead of the pack," said Ian Livingston, BT's chief executive.

"Our investment will see Londoners have access to both fibre and advanced copper broadband services well in advance of the London Olympics."

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, welcomed BT's announcement.

"The illustrious progenitor of the internet, Tim Berners-Lee, was born in this great city and it would be the ultimate tribute to him if London had the best digital games ever, not to mention the lifetime legacy of stronger internet infrastructure."

BT also revealed it will also expand its ADSL2+ copper network, which currently covers 90 percent of London and offers speeds of 'up to' 20Mbps.

The ISP revealed last month it plans to roll out superfast fibre broadband to 66 percent of the UK by 2015, and is further investing £1bn in the project. This puts BT's total investment at £2.5bn.

Originally BT had planned to offer the next-generation service to 40 percent of households, around 10 million homes, once the initial roll-out was complete. This was scheduled for 2013.

However in December last year, BT revealed it was ahead of schedule on the roll-out and was bringing the completion date forward to summer 2012.